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Tips to Increase Productivity {with White Noise}

May 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We all want to make the most of our time at work.  But instead, we are constantly bombarded by distractions or discomfort at work. Here are some helpful tips to increase your productivity and efficiency.

1. Restore Good Posture – The goal while sitting at a computer is to maintain a neutral typing posture, where your muscles are almost completely relaxed. Improving your posture will make you more comfort and boost your productivity. Get a good, ergonomic chair that encourages good posture, and adjust it to specifically fit your body. Make sure you feet sit firmly on the ground and that your back is well supported; you can also add portable lumbar support if your backrest is not sufficient.

2.      Try white noise – Random office noise and interruptions consume about two hours a day for the average office worker. Most of us spend our day trying to concentrate through the conversations around us. White noise can help. Try out this free white noise generator to see if you could benefit from masking the miscellaneous noise at work.  White noise can help cover up interrupting noises and make surrounding conversations fade into the background.

3.      Set your priorities. Each morning, list out your most important tasks or projects and spend the first part of your day on a high priority task while you are fresh and motivated. Don’t default to checking e-mail or phone messages first thing. This will help lower your stress and make you feel productive.

4.       Eliminate distractions! A recent study found that people tend to distract themselves at work as often as others distract them. Set a period of time like a 30 to 60 minutes and turn off all your self-distractions, like your phone and e-mail, and turn on a personal sound machine to block conversations. Spend this time in focused concentration working on a high priority task. At the end of your time, take a short break and then get back to your distraction-free work mode.

5.      Take a break. If you are feeling stiff or are struggling with a project, stand up and stretch. This will relieve muscle strain and increase blood circulation to the brain. A study at USC recently found that standing can increase brain function by 5% to 20%. And drink water throughout the day; so even slight dehydration can decrease your productivity by more than 20 percent.

Increasing your productivity and efficiency can lower your stress and help you complete your work by the end of the day. Start by maintaining good posture with a good, ergonomic chair that is properly adjusted to support your body. Next, decrease the time-consuming distractions and office noise with a white noise sound machine. Working to make changes in your habits and environment can help you feel more productive and less stressed at the end of the day.

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Becoming Happy Workers {with sound machines}

March 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Treating the Noise Problem

Last time we briefly discussed how distracted and unhappy workers (namely cubicle dwellers) are in loud, distracting work places.  Besides being overstimulated and interrupted all too frequently in a noisy office, they also felt that their jobs were menial and less important as a result.  Maybe it’s the clear awareness of not having a corner office, or maybe it’s just the lack of tranquility- regardless of the reason, office noise and its resulting distraction level are depressing and demoralizing for many workers.

So, it’s no surprise that when the noise was treated with sound masking, productivity levels picked up.  Here is the abstract from another part of the same study I just summarized:

To test the effects of masked and unmasked office noise on arousal, stress and cognitive performance, each of three groups of 15 student volunteers was exposed to one of the following conditions: taped office noise (54 dbA with bursts to 60-66 dbA), the same noise masked by white noise at 59 dbA, and no extraneous noise. Findings confirmed predictions based on theories of arousal and disruptive stress. The no noise group performed best on a measure of cognitive complexity and felt the least disturbed and stressed by the environment. Masked noise subjects performed better than those in the unmasked condition on both complexity and a simple attention task; they felt more aroused but less disturbed or stressed by the environment. The findings are relevant to both theoretical and applied aspects of ambient noise.

Treating Your Noise Problem

Sometimes distractions are just feet away.

There were a lot of $5 words in there, so here’s a quick summary- workers in no-noise offices fared the best as the most productive and least stressed workers.  Workers in treated areas (ie areas with sound masking) performed better than noisy office workers, and even though they were aware of the masking, they were less disturbed and felt less stress.

So, you may be wishing you could be in the no-noise group.  You’re not alone- that would be awesome for everyone.  But the very nature of an open office does not allow for silence, peaceful as it may be.  Noise is the standard soundtrack.  Thus, the lesser of the two evils is treating that noise.  An easy option for you is a white noise machine, aka a sound machine.  You can try a free online generator, or you can purchase one of your choice.  Either way, you’re using white noise to help your brain tune out the noise and stay focused on work.

The bottom line is that if you’re unhappy at work, it may be due to office noise and too many distractions.  An easy remedy is to use a sound machine so you can tune out the distraction.

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How to Overcome Office Noise

March 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you work in a noisy office?

More than likely, the answer is an overwhelming yes.  Unless you work alone, in a sound-proof room, the answer has to be yes.  From copy and fax machines to co-worker chatter and sales calls, the typical office is simply riddled with noise you can’t escape.

Seriously, take a minute to think about how frequently you are interrupted or distracted in a given day….think about emails dinging in and Facebook alerts and cell phone calls and co-worker conversations you may or may not be an intentional part of…it all adds up quickly.  In fact, studies show that workers are interrupted up to 70 times a day!  70 times a day.  Let that sink in.  Maybe you don’t need to because you are well aware of how distracted you are at work.  If so, then you are also aware of the reality of how much distractions cost.  It’s not just the time that you are distracted, which is actually pretty substantial- two hours a day, according to recent studies.  No, it’s also the time you lose as you try to get back on task.  You see, each distraction not only moves your focus, but also your physical stuff.  Think about a co-worker asking you for a certain document and you pushing aside stacks of paper as you try to find it.  Changes like this to your work context mean that it’s even harder to get focused again- your mind isn’t on track and you feel the need to put everything back or close new tabs, etc, which costs you time and therefore productivity.

So, how can you minimize interruptions?

It’s not like you can put a don’t-mess-with-me bubble around your cubicle {if you find one of those, please leave a comment and a link, thank you in advance}, so what resources do you have?  Your best shot at reclaiming your focus and productivity is a sound machine.  You can choose whatever form of white noise you like, be it a waterfall or a chirping bird- it’s your choice, and whatever you choose will be infinitely better than office noise.

It may sound to good to be true, but sound machines are a highly effective defense against office noise.  If office distractions are costing you, it’s time to get one.

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Office Noise Doesn’t Always Lead to Distraction

September 8, 2010 By 1 Comment

Office Noise Doesn’t Have to Become Distraction

You don't have to become a superhero to deal with office noise.

There are a million distractions at work, most of which can’t be avoided: you have to check your email, endless reports must be filled out, and a blue, sunny sky can’t really be blocked out just because it’s beckoning to you.  However, you do not have to be held captive to other’s people’s noise.  Their phone calls, pounding on keyboards (which is a terrible ergonomic practice anyway), exuberant sales pitches, and just general office chatter do not have to derail you day after day.  You have several options:

3 Tips for Fewer Distractions

  1. Talk to them.  It may sound hypocritical- talk to co-workers about their loud talking…but, in all seriousness, have a relaxed, non-threatening conversation about toning it down when possible.   Ask if there’s anything you can do to make their work day a little smoother.
  2. Time block.  Some people find it helpful to lay out their schedules and physically block off time for emailing, phone calls, ad computer work.  Some also find it necessary to escape their desks for various blocks of time and choose to reserve a conference room.
  3. Try a sound machine.  It may be that option #1 simply isn’t going to cut it with your co-workers and option #2 doesn’t alleviate enough noise.  Some temperaments just can’t handle such dialogue without becoming defensive or retaliatory.  If that’s your situation, a desktop sound machine is just the ticket.  It’s loud enough to cover office noise, but low enough to not be a distraction for others.  There are a variety of options, so it’s important to consider your needs before choosing one.

Office noise is inevitable, but office distraction doesn’t  have to be.  Try one or all of these simple solutions for better focus and increased productivity.

Check back next week for tips on choosing a sound machine.

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2 Tips for Keeping Your Head at (and in!) Work

August 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Losing Your Mind

Have you ever been in the middle of your greatest thought and then just lost it?  We’ve seen it happen in dozens of movies- the hero or heroine is just about to accomplish something great, something that will change the world, or even just their own lives, when something grabs their attention and the moment is lost forever.

We all know that distractions have a cost.  Sometimes it’s a chance at a relationship, sometimes it’s catching a flight or even a phone call.  Sometimes, it’s loss of productivity, and therefore money.  This is the case with office distractions.  Whether the distractions are welcome or a nuisance, they all have a rather large price tag: $650 billion.  That’s right, distractions cost businesses hundreds of billion of dollars in just one year.

2 Tips for Avoiding Distraction at Work

  1. Some people have to book a conference room just to get work done.

    Time Block.  The basic idea is to cut away from all the turmoil in your office and devote a specific block of time to working on a project.  You set a start and stop time and during that period you focus on your work.  This means you shut down any unnecessary electronics and anything that rings.  You can do it, I promise.  With fewer (or no) distractions, you should be able to make some progress.

  2. Use white noise.  For all the other times (the times you’re not time blocking), consider covering office distractions.  With a simple desktop generator, you can block out office noise and get to work.  The advantage to white noise over headphones is that you won’t be adding to the office noise by singing louder than you realized (or start typing lyrics).

Half the battle at work is having a game plan.  By time blocking and covering noise, you allow your brain much needed-time to process and recalibrate,

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Tuning out the World & Focusing on What’s Important

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There's a reason the dinner hour is called the "witching hour."

Office Noise…Noise at Home

Office noise is a problem for many.  You may be one of the lucky few who thrives on chaos and mayhem…if so, you probably love deadlines and working up until the last minute.  Good for you.  For the rest of us, extra noise and stress is just that- stress.  Whether I’m working on a project or just trying to cook dinner, lots of voices in my ears (adult or otherwise) leads to what my husband dubbed “sensory overload.”  Rather than pushing through and finishing my task, I just shut down.  When it’s just dinner on the line, it’s more of an inconvenience than a real problem.  However, when it’s work-related, shutting down isn’t exactly an option.

There are a variety of noise coverage solutions out there.  I’m sure noise cancelling headphones are awesome, but I don’t want to spend $250.  As for ear plugs, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times- at best, they make my ears itchy.  At worst, they make them incredibly sore.  Plus, when I work from home, keeping 2 choking hazards out of reach of my 2-year-old is more challenging than it might seem.  So, I typically opt for a good white noise generator.  I run it loud enough to cover irritating distractions, but low enough that I can answer the phone (or tend to a child’s needs when that arises).  Essentially, I can tune out the world, but still be responsive when I need to be.

Is noise a problem for you?  If so, what do you do about it?

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Telecommuting = No More Noisy Coworkers

April 23, 2010 By 1 Comment

Are you tired of your noisy coworkers and trying to think up new ways to keep them from distracting you? Have you ever thought about if your job could be done from home? Could you work from home even a couple days a week? Before you immediately answer ‘no’ ask yourself a few questions.

Questions taken from Telecommute Connecticut.
  • Do you have the right job? Obviously if you are a construction worker or a plumber, telecommuting is not going to work.
  • Do you have a good job performance record? If you are constantly on Facebook or talking on your cell phone, your boss is probably not going to agree to you working from home. If you won’t work when you are at work, then why would you when you are at home? Also, if you are a new employee, you wouldn’t be a good candidate because you are still at a stage where you need to get familiar with office procedure and it is helpful to have other people around to be able to ask a quick question if you need to.
  • Do you have the right home office environment? Will you have access to a quiet place to work that is free from distractions? If the only place you have to work during the day is at your kitchen table right next to your noisy toddler then telecommuting would probably not work for you. Its awfully hard to participate in a conference call when your kid is yelling and throwing food at your computer and you.
  • Do you have the right boss and organizational structure? If your boss is like Michael Scott, then it is probably a no go.
  • Are you an effective communicator? If you can communicate quickly and easily over email and on the phone, then that would be fine. If you are the kind of person that needs to have a face to face conversation, then that might pose a problem for you to work at home.
  • Are you self-disciplined, motivated and organized? Basically, are you going to be able to work when you are supposed to work and get your job done?
  • Do you have social independence skills? As an extrovert, I would fail this question. I am horribly unproductive when I am completely alone and have always been that way. Give me another person working quietly in the same room as me, and I am good to go. I would feel too lonely and isolated if I worked from home full time.
  • Are you susceptible to overwork? If you have trouble leaving your work at your work, then you might not want to bring your work into your home where you would then have no physical separation from it, making it harder to have any mental separation. You need to have time away from work in order to rest and recharge.
  • Do you see telecommuting as a way to balance work and other roles? If you are going to telecommute, you still need to give 100% to your work. You can’t expect to be able to work effectively while caring for a sick relative or trying to take care of your kids. Your family and your work deserve better than that.

If your answers to these questions look promising after you have thoroughly thought them over, then perhaps you should approach your boss and ask if telecommuting would work for you.

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White Noise for Realtors

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The McCord Real Estate Team

Taking a Personal Interest in their Clients

My mom and dad are successful realtors in Dallas, TX.  My mom started real estate while my dad was still building houses, so I have watched her top the charts time and again and have marveled at how well she did even solo.  I believe her success is a result of her loyalty, friendliness, and faithfulness.  Each client feels taken care of from looking at the first house to closing day and beyond.  That’s because she takes a personal interest in their needs and wants, and she works hard to ensure they get exactly what they want at a price they can afford.  And now that my dad brings his construction expertise to the team, they are quite the dynamic duo.

Why she left her office

Recently we had an interesting conversation about why she left her real estate office and started officing from home.  The main reason was that she felt she couldn’t serve her clients well from her noisy office for the following reasons:

  • Distraction- too much office noise was distracting while she tried to work or make calls.
  • Overheard Personal Information- she didn’t want other agents or passers-by to overhear her personal information as she made calls.
  • Competing agents- there were times that the agent on the other side of a deal she was negotiating was present in the office.  The last thing she wanted was for that agent to hear her confirming a seller’s bottom price or a buyer’s top price.
  • Lack of professionalism- similar to distraction, ambient office noise in the background does not sound personal and professional to a client on the other end of a call or in a meeting at the office.

As a result, she moved her office home to batter take care of her clients.  However, it may be that you don’t have that luxury.  Perhaps your home is not large enough to house an office, or perhaps you have to work at an office because it’s more convenient for your clients.  Or maybe it’s just too expensive to buy all the equipment you need to work from home successfully, or maybe you simply aren’t productive enough when faced with home distractions.

White Noise

Whatever the case may be, an alternative solution for office noise is white noise.  White noise is basically a low-level background sound that helps your brain block out competing sounds so that it can focus on one task, one conversation, or one person at a time without becoming distracted.  In the case of clients, white noise can help them stay focused and not overwhelmed by all the background clattering while they are trying to negotiate a deal.  Furthermore, when white noise in employed office-wide (like in the case of sound masking) provides security since all parties can talk freely without fear of being overheard.

My mom has received the customer service award office-wide 5 times for a reason- she cares about her clients as if they’re family.  So, whatever it takes to make them feel personally cared for and protected is worth it to her.  Maybe you feel the same way.  Try this free white noise generator to see if it’s a fit for your style of business.

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Being Proactive When Dealing with Distractions

March 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

I recently found a site that talked about avoiding distractions at work.  I enjoyed reading some of the comments left:

One (wo)man's gain is another man's distraction.

Background Noise

Thanks for all of the tips. The background noise thing is huge for me. If I can hear other people’s conversations, then my mind automatically tries to zero in on that rather than my task at hand. If I am really having trouble, I will turn on some white noise so that way I can’t hear the conversations as well. There are lots of free online noise generators.

Agreed.  In fact, I can even supply you with a free online generator.

A woman amongst Men

I am the only woman on a floor with all guys. The locker room banter and bodily noise demonstrations along with the spontaneous outbursts of sounds, whistling and general turrets behaviors is my biggest distraction.

As a fellow female, I sympathized with this poor woman.  Then, I laughed.  Boys will be boys, I suppose.

The 2-Minute Rule

As our office has grown and the faces and dynamics have changed, I wondered if I was just being overly sensitive, so I counted. I used a post it note and every time someone made an unnecessary, rude, disturbing noise I made a tick mark. After four hours I tallied them to find that someone had made a random, useless outburst every 2 minutes. At least I had something to bring to management. I told them I didn’t want anyone punished, after all the bahavior had been tolerated by other workers and management alike, but that I needed a slightly more subdued work environment to focus. There were some seating changes and some new rules. The guys can still be social, but now at least I can get my work done.

Dealing with Distractions

I imagine this last one is pretty normal.  Distractions and interruptions are part and parcel to working amongst others.  Even working from home can be distracting.  The bottom line , though, is to be proactive.  Ask management to look into it for possible solutions.  If you’re not comfortable with that or you feel you are ratting out the very people amongst whom you must work every day, then be a self-starter and take action on your own. Here are just a few pointers for being  less distracted (and therefore more focused) at work:

  • Draw some boundaries.  Everyone needs a (coffee) break, so do your socializing then and only then.
  • De-clutter your desk so you don’t fell overwhelmed every time you look up.
  • Try the free white noise generator.  It doesn’t work for everybody, but most people will say the low-level background noise helps cover otherwise distracting sounds/bodily emissions/unnecessary interruptions.
  • Have tech-free minutes, even hours, where you devote time to written work or organizational needs.  IBM mandated “quiet time” for some of their engineers.

As a result of proactive techniques such as those listed above, many workers  found they were able to quit working evenings and weekends due to the increased productivity.  That sounds good, doesn’t it?

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The 12 distractions of work

December 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

On an average day of work,
My open office shared with me:
Twelve chatters chatting,
Eleven eaters eating,
Ten texters texting,
Nine ladies laughing,
Eight copiers beeping,
Seven cell phones buzzing,
Six doors a-slammin’,
Five high heels clickin’,
Four friends IM-ing,
Three thoughtless comments,
Two chatterboxes,
And a boss with endless deadlines!

It’s crazy how even with all the madness an open office brings, you still have to work.  How do you work and not get sucked in by all the distractions?  If office noise is a problem, it might be time to give white noise a shot.  Your coworkers will still annoy you in the break room,  but at least you can get some work done at your desk without being held captive by office noise.

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